Waiting
by Alikinginnit
Summary: Waiting... I've been waiting all this time but I don't know how much longer I can wait. From Nicks point of view talking to Carla's.
1. I'm Sorry

**From Nick's point of view talking to Carla's.**

It's the waiting that's the worst.

Waiting. Waiting for something, anything, any signs you're still here.

Physically you're here, as you lie on this bed in this dull white hospital room.

But, mentally, who knows?

I don't.

Michelle doesn't.

Even the doctors don't.

"Prepare yourself for the worst,"

So, here I am. Sitting by your bedside knowing you could wake up any minute or I could lose you. I could lose you forever.

That isn't an option. I don't think I could bare to carry on without you.

Not after everything.

The fire didn't break us. Your gambling didn't break us. Neither will this.

You've been through so much, too much.

Too much to let three thugs be the end of you, the end of us.

In my restaurant.

My bistro.

You need to wake up. There's so much we need to do still. So much I need to ask you.

Why were you there? Why did you chase after them? Why did this have to happen? Why?

You must have been so scared. Lying there. Semi conscious. You didn't even have anyone with you.

I still can't believe it. I let this happen to you.

I'm so sorry.

If I hadn't had gone down to London. We might not be in this mess. I told you I'd love you and look after you and never let anything happen to you.

But, when it came down to it, I just let it happen. I put some stupid meeting before you and I let you down.

I let them hurt you.

After everything you've been through, I still couldn't protect you.

What kind of fiancé does that make me?

I let them hurt you.

"Possible brain damage," it still rings in my ears. Echoing and replaying, non stop.

Possible brain damage. Just three words.

Three words can change it all.

How did we get here?

Just months ago, we were so happy, so in love.

And then it's just like one revelation and suddenly it's all gone.

I can't bare this waiting.

It's been three weeks since I got the call from Steve, telling me I needed to get back to weatherfield straight away, that something had happened. That drive was the longest drive I've ever experienced. It seemed like the roads didn't end and I would never make it back.

But, I did.

They told me you could wake up within a matter of hours, now here I am. Now, it could be more weeks, months, years, maybe never.

So I'm just left here, waiting.

It's just, I don't know how much longer I can wait.


	2. This is it

**This was originally a one shot but I had an idea for it so I'm now planning on turning it into a proper story. Please review and let me know if you like it but this is really short as it is just a filler chapter, the next one will be longer!**

"Nick you need to get down here now," I hear Michelle practically shout down the phone at me and I know it's urgent.

She's at the hospital with Carla and I have no idea what it could be.

She sounded stressed, she sounded like something big had happened.

I couldn't tell whether it was good or not.

Who am I kidding? Of course it's not going to be good.

I can't lose her, not now.

Not when I've been waiting for six months, six whole months I've been sitting by her bedside praying she wakes up.

Now it could have all been for nothing.

After everything we've been through together, she might not even still be alive.

I might not even have time to tell her.

Just to tell her I'm sorry.

I'm sorry for everything, I'm sorry for letting her down.

The car journey from the bistro to Weatherfield Hospital took around ten minutes in reality.

But for me, it felt like an eternity.

As I eventually manage to park my car in the incredibly busy car park outside the hospital, I start to sprint inside.

All I think about is her.

Carla.

I could go in there and she could be sitting up with her gorgeous smile and I could look into her beautiful emerald eyes and we could be us again. I would be whole again.

Or, I could go in there to find out that I'll never get her back. If I don't get her back, then I don't know what I'll do. She's my life. I can't imagine a life without her in it.

As I run past the front desk, I start to get nervous. It isn't far to her room from here. What if she is really gone? What then?

Suddenly, I stop as I notice where I am.

"Hospital room 724,"

This is it.

This is really it.

 **Sorry it's only short, please review and favourite/follow if you like it. I have a big storyline lined up which includes a very significant character who used to be in Coronation Street...**


	3. Memory

**Thank you for all the lovely reviews. I hope you like this and it's not too confusing.**

It's been 10 minutes, just standing and staring at the door. I just can't bring myself to open it, knowing what I could find out.

"Are you here about Carla Connor?" I'm suddenly snapped back to reality when I hear a doctor mention Carla.

"Yeah, I'm Nick her fiancé."

I try to read her facial expressions, desperately trying to have any hint of whether it's good or bad news without having to ask.

"You can go in and see her, you know?" She replies cheerfully as I make eye contact with her, joy spreading across my face.

"She's okay?" I ask and she nods in return as I feel a couple of tears fall down my face in happiness.

Six months. Six months and all this waiting, it wasn't for nothing.

She's really okay.

"Thank you," I say gratefully as I look back towards the door.

I put my hand round the handle and walk into the small white hospital room to see Carla asleep in the bed and Michelle sitting by her side.

"Hey," Michelle says to me with a smile on her face and I know she's thinking the same as I am. All this time, every single minute we spent by her bedside, willing her to wake up was so worth it.

"Hey, have you talked to her yet?" I ask Michelle as I know she's desperate to talk to her but I just hope I didn't miss out on anything.

"No, she was asleep when I got here. The doctor said she'll be hopefully awake within around an hour."

"Okay," I reply as I sit, staring in awe.

Seeing her like this is so different to the previous six months.

She just looks so much more alive and peaceful.

For the next half an hour, we don't say much. We just sit and stare, waiting for her to wake up.

Because, unlike before, we know she will. Maybe when she does, things can finally go back to normal.

Michelle and I instantly look to each other as she starts to move around in her bed whilst rubbing her eyes.

It's too real.

I'm suddenly overcome with the fear that she would remember what happened and hate me for it. I should have been there.

I move my chair back slightly so I'm still in the room but just about out of sight unless she looks over.

As Michelle looks up, I know she realises I just need a minute. A minute to prepare.

"Carla," I hear Michelle say, practically in a whisper as she helps her to properly sit up.

"Michelle," Carla croakily replies and as soon as she does, Michelle doesn't hesitate to wrap her arms round her and hug her tight, tears streaming down her face as she holds on to her best friend, cherishing the moment she's prayed for over the last six months.

After a few minutes, I see Michelle nod to me and Carla suddenly turn her head, noticing my presence.

I expect her to look happy but she doesn't. Her face is just a look of shock.

The fear that she blames me for it all abruptly returns as she opens her mouth and I'm scared she will tell me to leave.

"Nick, what are you doing here?"

I look up in confusion and think maybe I heard her wrong. Glancing at Michelle, I see confusion spread across her face too at Carla's question.

"Is Leanne not wondering where you are?"

No. 

This can't be happening.

I'm begging and pleading that I've misunderstood or she's joking or anything as I go back to looking at her, my heart breaking at her words as I remember what a doctor said to me shortly after the robbery: "we can't be certain but I have to warn you even if she does wake up, there's no guarantee that she won't have any form of memory loss due to the impact on her head. We can't be sure until she's woken up though."

I feel the tears as they cascade down my face falling onto the floor and now it's her turn for the look of confusion as she turns back to Michelle.

I didn't think m heart could break any more than it already had but as soon as she asked her next question, I realised just how wrong I was.

"Is Peter not here? Does he know I'm awake yet?"

Peter.

 **Please review and let me know what you think and if you like it. I hope the ending is understandable as I realised it might be a bit too confusing. Thank you for reading!**


	4. No Guarantees

"What do you mean 'Peter'?" Michelle asks but she knows what she means.

We both do.

Possibility of memory loss.

I don't think the emotional pain I'm experiencing can be any worse, not until I hear her desperately ask the nurse as she enters.

"Oh my god, is my baby okay?"

Michelle and I make eye contact across the room and I know that, just like me, her heart is breaking.

I may not have been there for her but I know about what happened with Peter and how hard it was for her to recover from losing her baby.

But, this time will be so much worse.

How am I supposed to explain to her that Peter isn't there because he had an affair with Tina, that Rob is now in prison for her murder, that she lost her baby and that we are now engaged?

Every time she looks at me, I can see the confusion evident in her eyes and it breaks my heart.

In her mind, she hasn't fallen in love with me yet.

I'm engaged to a woman who has no recollection of ever being in a relationship wi me, who thinks she still married to a man who cheated on her and who thinks she's pregnant.

"I'm sorry?" The nurse asks in confusion as she has no idea what is currently happening.

As Michelle nods to me to explain it to her, I stand up and lead the nurse out of the room, hoping that Michelle will be able to explain everything to Carla, although I doubt it.

"I think she's suffering from memory loss," I quickly get to the point, hoping and praying there's some way they can fix it and make everything okay again.

"So, she was pregnant? Do you know the degree of her memory loss? How much she might have forgotten?" She asks me as I desperately try to hold myself together though.

"She had a miscarriage and she thinks she's still married to her ex husband. Umm, I think she's forgotten at least a year and a half. I'm not sure but can you fix it?"

She instantly loses eye contact with me and I know what that means.

"Please say there's some way? I'm engaged to her and she still thinks she's in love with her ex husband."

She sighs as she replies with "We'll do what we can but I'm afraid you'll have to talk to the doctor if you want to know more, I'll go and get him now. I'm sorry but I have to tell you there are no guarantees."

Upon hearing the phrase "no guarantees" I can't stop a tear from rolling down my face. They said there was no guarantees she won't have memory loss and now she has. Now they're saying there's no guarantees she will get it back.

I quickly try to pull myself together as I brace myself for what I'm going to walk back in on but as I enter the room again, I see how mistaken I was as Michelle and Carla are sat laughing.

As soon as I enter, the laughing suddenly stops as they both look at me.

Carla, still looking confused whilst I can see Michelle looking down, ashamed.

"Michelle, can I have a word outside?" I ask.

 **Please review**


	5. Need To Know

**I hope you enjoy this but it's only a short filler chapter!**

As we both leave a confused Carla's hospital room, we slowly close the door before Michelle looks up at me, guilt written over her face.

"I'm sorry," She starts to apologise.

"Yeah, you should be." I snap.

"None of this is my fault Nick."

"Well it's okay for you isn't it? She still remembers you as her best friend, doesn't she? Not me though." I tell her, trying to hold back the tears that have been desperate to fall since Carla said Peter's name.

"All she remembers me as is the one who owns the bistro or the one she used to hate when we worked together." I explain as I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.

I see Michelle looking down to the floor, clearly ashamed.

"We need to go in and tell her, tell her the truth." I say.

"Okay," Michelle simply replies as we both simultaneously look up to the door before slowly making our way back inside.

As we walk back in and sit either side of her bed, I can see the worried look on Carla's face and it breaks my heart to see her this way.

"It's the baby, isn't it?" She asks looking between the both of us as a tear runs down her cheek.

How am I supposed to explain this all to her?

I look to Michelle who I can see trying to hold it together but she clearly isn't going to be able to do this.

It's up to me.

It's up to me to break my fiancé's heart. My fiancé who doesn't even know we're engaged.

"Do you remember what happened?" I have to stop myself from saying sweetheart, knowing it would just confuse her more.

"I collapsed," she says simply as if it's obvious.

"Was it the baby?" She persists.

"Carla, what's the year?" I ask her, knowing what the answer will be.

I'm met with a confused look as Carla looks back at Michelle.

"What kind of question is that?" She says, worry evident in her voice.

"Just answer it," Michelle tries to help.

"2014," she says as it just confirms what we already knew. "May 2014 to be exact," she continues.

That wasn't long before she found out about Peter, before she had a miscarriage.

"Will you just tell me what's going on?" Carla asks desperately.

I try but I just can't find the words.

"Is my baby okay? Where's Peter? Where's Rob? Why are you here? Will someone please just tell me what's going on? Please" her voice cracks and I can see the confusion, the fear in her eyes.

I know I need to tell her, I need to.

"Carla, there's something, well a lot of things that you need to know."

 **Thank you for reading. Sorry it was only short but the next few will hopefully be longer. Please leave a review.**


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